let the light in | jack hughes

Chapter 9

[November 21, 2022]

Beatrice

Today when I walked into work, Devon was waiting for me by my office, when she saw me she straightened up and walked over to me. "Hey Dev," I smile and open my door, letting her inside. "Hey Bea," She sighs, giving off an annoyed vibe. "What's up?" I ask her, putting my things down on top of my desk. 

She rolls her eyes one more time before saying, "The higher-ups want us to do a 'Hockey fights Cancer' thing. Which isn't what I'm annoyed at. They want us to do a shoot where the boys hold a piece of paper and write what or who they're fighting for." She says and I feel my hands get a bit sweaty.

"I'm sorry they asked on such short notice," She apologizes on behalf of them. I shake my head and wave her off. "No, that's alright. All a part of the job, some things just don't go to plan," I shrug, pulling my camera out of my bag. She wraps her arms around me when she sees how easy I'm being with the short-notice photoshoot.

"Thank you, you're not a pain in the ass, I love it," She sighs against me, walking me to where we'll be taking pictures of the guys. She helps me set up the backdrop and a few lights around my camera that's set up on my tripod. I pull up a stool behind the camera and sit, waiting for the first guy to walk in. 

I dry my sweaty hands against my jeans and shake them out in hopes they'll dry due to the cool air in the room. The first guy to come in is Dougie. "Good morning Hamilton, ready to get your picture taken?" I smile hoping the anxiety I woke up with this morning isn't beaming off of me. "Yeah, what are we doing?" He sips his coffee. 

When I explain what he'll be doing he looks at the sheet of paper and back at me. "Do I have to write just one thing?" He asks and I shake my head, "You can do one thing per paper if you want," I tell him, breaking my heart that this resonates with Dougie. He writes down three names and holds them up to the camera. I give him a quiet countdown before snapping a few pictures. 

I let him look at them and decide if they're okay or if he wants a better picture. He gives a quick high five, thanking me before walking out of the room and sending the next person in. 

I take a few more pictures, getting down to my last handful of people. At this moment I'm not exactly sure what triggers it but the anxiety that was buzzing through my body finally caught up to me. My hands start shaking, I'm at war with my own lungs, gasping for a breath of air. I reach up for my throat, gripping it in hopes of just needing a little help with breathing. I feel a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders, along with a few words but they all sound muffled.

Out of nowhere I just inhale a big breath, hunching over, putting my hands on my thighs. Where the fuck did that come from? I'm inhaling big breaths through my nose and out through my mouth. Gripping my thighs, as I overcome the first few deep breaths. I look behind me to see who watched me have a panic attack, and see Nico. He already wears those big dog eyes that could make a girl fold, but now they're full of concern. 

"He-hey Nico," I say shyly, grabbing the water bottle I brought in here, and chugging down half of the water in there. "Are you alright, sweetheart?" He asks me, pulling me into one of the coziest hugs I've ever been in. I wrap my arms around his waist, as his go around my shoulders. I take in deep breaths that help my heart rate settle down, before pulling away. 

"Oh sorry," We hear someone say as I pull in. Nico and I turn around to see Jack looking at us, shifting his vision between the two of us, and walking further into the room. I fully leave Nico's arms and ask him to fill out the paper, avoiding the obvious awkward tension in the room.  I ask Jack to do the same. I snap pictures of Nico holding up his sign before he gives me a hug and tells me to come find him later.